Rescue operation underway to trace workers trapped inside the partially collapsed Telangana's Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel, in Nagarkurnool, Telangana.
Credit: PTI Photo
Nagarkurnool (Telangana): A month into the partial collapse of the SLBC tunnel here, rescue teams on Saturday continued the search operation to locate the seven persons trapped inside the tunnel amid challenging conditions, including muck, water seepage and broken parts of the huge Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).
The operation was going on in full swing, including desilting, and more than 400 workers are working on a daily basis, a senior official said.
It has to be ensured during the operation that the life of the rescuers is not put at risk, he said.
"It's an unprecedented rescue effort," he told PTI.
The Telangana government on Saturday sanctioned Rs five crore towards payment of expenditure for the execution of the operation.
On February 22, a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project tunnel collapsed leading to a total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers— getting trapped.
The body of Gurpreet Singh, a TBM operator, was recovered on March 9 and handed over to his family in Punjab, while seven others remain trapped inside the tunnel.
As part of the search operation, the rescue personnel have been involved in cutting the TBM parts using ultra thermal cutters and removing them.
The soil inside the tunnel was being removed by excavators and later shifted out on a conveyor belt.
Oxygen cylinders were being supplied continuously to the rescue personnel.
Cadaver dogs of Kerala police and robots of a Hyderabad-based private company have also been deployed as part of the search operations.
Personnel from the NDRF, SDRF, state-run miner Singareni Collieries, rat miners, and other agencies have been involved in the search operation, especially at locations identified for possible presence.
Meanwhile, BRS MLA T Harish Rao alleged failure of the Congress government to locate the seven trapped persons.